Trump Sticks With Disastrous New Intel Chief as Democrats Lead Revolt

House Speaker Mike Johnson could not get Donald Trump to agree to swap Bill Pulte for someone else.

House Speaker Mike Johnson failed Tuesday to convince President Donald Trump to sacrifice his crooked crony in order to save FISA.  

In a meeting at the White House, Trump indicated that he would not nominate a replacement for Bill Pulte, the wildly inexperienced housing official he appointed as acting director of national intelligence.

Pulte’s appointment prompted Democrats to pull their support for a long-term extension of FISA Section 702, which is intended to shield U.S. citizens from the country’s warrantless surveillance program overseas. Seven Senate Republicans also voted against the FISA extension last week.

The key spy power is set to expire Friday, but Trump made it clear that he felt no need to acquiesce to Democrats’ demands, people briefed on the meeting told Politico. 

The Democrats “have taken a hostage,” Johnson told reporters Tuesday. In reality, Trump’s reckless actions and total disregard for his own party have put FISA into jeopardy.

Pulte has none of the military or intelligence background necessary to lead ODNI, and has instead made a name for himself by targeting the president’s political enemies and making himself wildly unpopular in the process.

Republican Senator Attacks GOP for Becoming “Circular Firing Squad”

Senator Thom Tillis is fed up with his party over their recent votes.

Outgoing Senator Thom Tillis wrote a 15-paragraph letter excoriating his Republican colleagues for bending over backwards to the most troubling parts ofPresident Trump’s agenda.

Tillis called out Republicans pushing Trump’s vote-suppressing SAVE Act, saying the party has devolved into a “circular firing squad” over the controversial legislation.

“The real problem I have is that the president (and a few of our members?) forced us to take two more unsuccessful votes for the SAVE Act at the expense of our most vulnerable members in cycle,” Tillis wrote in the letter obtained by Punchbowl News. “The road to holding our majority is already difficult.... We cannot afford any more unforced errors like this between now and November.”

Tillis also railed against Republicans supporting the president’s “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” a $1.776 billion, taxpayer-funded handout for any Trump supporter who felt targeted by the Biden........

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